Catechism

[Meko126]

For any adult converts to Orthodoxy- what was your catechism like? How long were you a catechumen? Did you have classes, meet with your priest outside of Sundays after the DL, books you were encouraged to read, etc? I would also be curious to know if there are jurisdictional differences in this regard. We’ve made the difficult decision to postpone our baptisms and find a different parish, and I would like a better idea of what I can reasonably expect. I hope that makes sense. Thank you all.

 

[Anhelyna]

My priest and I talked - and talked and talked . He knew where I was coming from and he did actually know my UGCC Priest !

The process for me was very gentle and I was very surprised the first time I was addressed as' the Catechumen xxxxx' .

At the moment our Community is small enough that each person is taken as an individual and teaching is very much on an individual level/approach. This may need to change in the future , but we will see.

 

[ArmyMatt]

we had a Thursday night catechism which went through the Creed.

 

[Lukaris]

Personally, I was instructed by our priest for 5-6 months roughly from Nativity through Lent & chrismated on Holy Saturday before Pascha (2005). This was usually most Sunday afternoons from 3:00 or 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. The catechisms were open for anyone to attend and sometimes others did. I was advised to ( & bought) the book: The Orthodox Church by Fr Anthony Coniaris. Our parish has the Orthodox Faith series by (late) Fr Stanley Hopko ( which I read). Of course, I purchased the then (2004) Orthodox Study Bible (NT & Psalms). I was given numerous handouts & already had the books: The Orthodox Church by Metr Kallistos Ware,The Art of Prayer anthology of Igumen (Abbot) Chariton, & Early Christian writings collection ( Ignatian Epistles, Didache, Clement etc.) etc.

Of course catechism varies a lot; this is just my personal experience.

 

[Platina]

we had a Thursday night catechism which went through the Creed.

brah, OCF was Thursdays.

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

I went to Church today and found out that there will be classes on Wednesday Nights. Lord willing I'll attend them all.

 

[ArmyMatt]

brah, OCF was Thursdays.

sorry, Wednesday after Vespers

 

[~Anastasia~]

We had small classes that met with the priest - typically 2-3 of us. It was open to anyone who wanted to attend including cradle Orthodox (some did).

We met twice a week for an hour or longer each time.

He preferred a Q&A format that could go anywhere in discussion, but he sometimes had particular topics he wanted to cover as well.

(Once he did a structured class but I think he didn't like it much as he went back to open discussion.)

It varies for each person. I was attending catechism classes for about ten months before I was baptized.

He recommended some books and a prayer rule, but otherwise kept an eye on what we were reading, telling us not to reach certain things, and discussing various aspects of things we did read.

 

[FenderTL5]

My initial catechism was a little over a year. We met for an hour on Wednesdays after vespers. There was a syllabus.
Major topics:
Creation and the fall
Incarnation and trinity
Teachings and life of Christ
Holy spirit and the church
The mysteries and daily spiritual life
The services and liturgical calendar
The divine liturgy
Saints and relics

I went through catechism with my daughter first. We were charismated then my wife joined us and I went through it a second time with her. Because there were different groups, the questions were a bit different..So the discussions were different. I loved every second of it.

 

[Meko126]

Thank you all very much!

 

[~Anastasia~]

You're very welcome.

It varies a lot.

Some parishes might use things like Fr. Barnabas Powell's Orthodoxy 101 series. You can watch free online. (This is the first - I think there are 5.)

I also attend catechism classes for others any time I can. I always learn something more.

 

[Ioannes]

I also wondered a lot before showing up at one of the only two orthodox parishes in my town.
Personally, our Church is so multiethnic (multilingual) and diversified in age that I get one-on-one encounters with the Priest on Tuesday late afternoon. I can attend with the frequency I prefer so there's nothing fixed, not even the duration is. Other believers who are doing the catechism are probably the kids of other church members, most of whom are slavs and were born and raised orthodox. So I'm the only Italian speaking Orthodox Catechumen as of now.
This solution suits me just fine, classes wouldn't have as much.

 

[Anhelyna]

Welcome to CF Ioannes - and to TAW specifically.

Hope you enjoy being with us here

 

[Ioannes]

Not meaning to go off topic but allow me the courtesy to respond.

Thank you first of all, and yes I hope to be at home here. Sadly, I've waited maybe two weeks for an approval to my registration on another popular orthodox forum (which you surely know), to no avail.
They are taking so long I guess they will approve my request after I baptised.

 

[ArmyMatt]

welcome to TAW!

 

[Meko126]

I also wondered a lot before showing up at one of the only two orthodox parishes in my town.
Personally, our Church is so multiethnic (multilingual) and diversified in age that I get one-on-one encounters with the Priest on Tuesday late afternoon. I can attend with the frequency I prefer so there's nothing fixed, not even the duration is. Other believers who are doing the catechism are probably the kids of other church members, most of whom are slavs and were born and raised orthodox. So I'm the only Italian speaking Orthodox Catechumen as of now.
This solution suits me just fine, classes wouldn't have as much.

This sounds wonderful to me!

 

[~Anastasia~]

Not meaning to go off topic but allow me the courtesy to respond.

Thank you first of all, and yes I hope to be at home here. Sadly, I've waited maybe two weeks for an approval to my registration on another popular orthodox forum (which you surely know), to no avail.
They are taking so long I guess they will approve my request after I baptised.

Welcome to CF and to TAW!


If you mean Monachos I think they are defunct. I've been waiting for years now and tried several times to register. Last I checked I think it's overseen by someone I'm FB friends with. I should try through there to see if anything can be done.

 

[Ioannes]

Thank you, and nope I refer to orthodoxchristianity.net or something similar. I like the forum because it clarified many of my perplexities before I became an actual convert, however there's obviously little to zero moderation since new users take ages to be confirmed.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Thank you, and nope I refer to orthodoxchristianity.net or something similar. I like the forum because it clarified many of my perplexities before I became an actual convert, however there's obviously little to zero moderation since new users take ages to be confirmed.

Hmmmm.

I got approved for that one quickly but didn't stay that long. There are good members and posts there - some I recognized who used to be here and over time have stopped posting (and I miss them!). But there's too much trolling (or was for my taste) - back then at least, and someone who was modding at that time didn't help the situation. Overall I just found it not profitable spiritually. It sounds like things have changed if your approval is taking too long?

Just a thought - could your SPAM filters be blocking it? But then you probably already thought of that. Forgive me - just hoping to be helpful.

 

[Ioannes]

Just a thought - could your SPAM filters be blocking it? But then you probably already thought of that. Forgive me - just hoping to be helpful.

Yeah I tried and I even emailed them, but they don't respond. I'll leave it at that. It seems lively here, and the forum is pretty functional even on mobile.

Anyway thank you for your comments, I did notice some sort of trolling too. A few users were saying the oddest things. Advices on relationships and marriages as a "joke".